Card Magic (Cali)
Card Magic (カードマジック, Kādo Majikku) is a Holder Magic ability that allows the user to use various versions of cards as a physical template for casting magic spells, triggering all manner of effects depending on the type of cards being used by the caster, ranging from simple playing cards such as a standard standard 52-card deck used in poker, the mythical properties of tarot Cards for fortune telling, among many others. Among more skilled users, seasoned wizards have been known to produce and create their own cards in order to trigger a wider range of effects during battle, making a versatile style of magic available for wizards, despite being considered one of the most basic abilities in Earth Land. Description Much like the name suggests, Card Magic is the ability to use all types of cards to achieve a specific effect in battle, enabling the user to create cards of all kinds for the purpose of using them in all manner of encounters and situations that demand their use, be it in battle or to overcome obstacles. Given the nature it, any type of card-based object is the perfect catalyst for the use of Card Magic, more often than not triggering a wide arrange of varying spells depending on user’s style of casting and what kind of card they use. As a stable, the most common ability involving this special art is the power of producing numerous cards out of thin air, attaining their shape and form by consuming a small degree of magic energy each time a card is created, requiring extremely little effort to do so mainly due to the relative size and potency they have on producing different small-scale spells/attacks. Once they get their hands on any sort of cards, be it natural or artificially created by their own efforts, they can easily be treated as dangerous weapons capable producing diverging spells that function for individual needs. Once in their hands, any wizard using Card Magic can alter and manipulate the contexts of the cards they hold, molding the way they can be used in battle by either producing more versions of the same card, strengthening the durability of the card, controlling amount of magic energy it has and can unleash, or determining the degree of impact it has when making contact with another object, such as slicing directly through targets or simply using them as portable weapons to be used at any moment's notice. Be it through physical contact or from a short distance, a wizard can use any and all types of cards in tandem with this style of magic, shaping and combining them together to produce even greater feats, or moving them in a manner very reminiscent to Telekinesis, causing them to fly around at any direction or speed they desire, making them rather difficult to dodge or evade once in mid-flight. It is primarily through this effect that most wizards can toss their cards through the air as powerful projectiles with the sufficient power to match most razor sharp swords or knives in terms of cutting power, with the added bonus of the cards being much smaller and harder to hit while in mid-flight and their movements being directly influenced by the user at all times. Skilled knife fighters or hand-to-hand combatants are known to benefit best from this class of use, easily balancing the use of ranged combat with long range attacks, curving or redirecting the throws of their cards so as to better hit their targets. Although very limited in the way it can attack enemies, it more than makes up for it in terms of versatility and range of different abilities it can use, imitating the casting style of a grand multitude of different spells belonging to other branches of magic while at the same time making them very compatible with the user’s other magical abilities at their disposal. Achieved by replicating the power that a specific spell has, Card Magic can recreate other and or different magical arts in anyway that best suits the user’s needs and desires, doing so at a much smaller degree however. This can be contributed by the fact that the requirement to apply the distinct nature of a particular spell and the nature of the casting style is very dissimilar to the way they are naturally produced, making it much more difficult to imitate much more complex types of magic that demand a particular requirement for use. However, despite this limitation, Card Magic can successfully replicate the effects of smaller based spells or basic attacks commonly found in Elemental Magic or Sword Magic, among many others, broadening the scope in which they can attack or defend themselves. This results in the user being able to achieve a grand diversity of effects that broadens the way they can fight, such as being able to summon numerous weapons from within the confines of their cards, creations multiple obstacles to hinder their opponents, employing the use of traps and ploys to catch foes off guard, or activate card-specific abilities that apply special powers that most other forms of magic would be unable to do so, a common example being the ability to inside of their cards. In the hands of talented wizards, they have been known to hold an array of card-based weaponry and powers — the cards endow all of it’s users the chance to gain other abilities that would normally be too hard to use or be contrary to their style of fighting, opening the opportunity of greater expansion on their roster of skills at their disposal by being able to control the cards they summon and beings/tools that can be summoned using them, bestowing direct control over them. Given how little energy and actual hard work is needed to use these cards to accomplish basic tasks/functions, they are considered very simple to use. On the other hand, when even greater effort is applied, combined with greater volumes of magic being focused on such a diminutive object, overall effect they can unleash becomes magnified exponentially, focusing more of expanding it’s flexibility to apply the use of ability and power rather than size and numbers. Higher caliber spells that exists outside the dogmatic ways of Card Magic are known to create exclusive abilities that distinguishes it from more traditional ways of magic in order to bring about particular outcomes after casting them, such as influencing the user’s surroundings or producing high-end spells in accordance with the capabilities depicted on each card they create. As a staple, any user can construct various types of cards that can cause a wide-arrange of magical phenomenon to occur, depending on the nature of the card being used, being the defining component in deciding the extent in which their magic can take form. Although regarded by most as a well-rounded art which can produce a variety of effects, such as generating elements, and even seemingly living beings. Magic Card can be used for offense by employing the cards used for this Magic as long-range weapons by the user throwing them at their enemies. Aside from combat, Card Magic can play many other roles aside from simply taking on the aggressive route to battle: users can apparently track down people to some degree through the cards' use, making use of their unique properties to pinpoint the faintest trail of magic energy by throwing numerous cards around the immediate vicinity to pick up the trail, relaying the direction via the user’s primary card to transmit their location. These cards can also be linked to specific individuals in a similar style to Telepathy, allowing the user to gain information about their status and location, as well as to communicate with them. Users of this Magic can also combine their cards to generate particular effects, effectively combining a multitude of spells together to create a fused effect. This typically enables them to bolster the relative effect that a singular card has by stacking a multiple copies of the same card type directly on top of each other, multiplying the efficiency of the spell to a various degrees x’s the number of cards being used at a single time. When taken a step further, they can merge different types of magic together to generate entirely new abilities by combining their powers together and creating a much stronger form of magic than the previously aforementioned spells. Additionally, skilled wizards can actually combine more than two separate abilities together simultaneously to use for various extents. It should be noted that most skilled masters often create entire card decks comprised of numerous magic cards of distinct natures and abilities rather than simply creating them on the fly; a common example of this can be seen in most wizards arming themselves with actual cards that they carry on their person, thus reducing the chances of them finding themselves in a situation in which they are unable to create magical cards. It also functions as a way to conserve magic energy, as the expense of activating Card Magic is reduced significantly when it is channeled in actual cards, saving the need of creating whole cards composed out of magic energy. To those that actually take the time to create their decks, most wizards use what is commonly referred to as a Caster Deck (キャスターデッキ, Kyasutā Dekki), unique decks that contain special card that each contain magic the user’s very own variation of Card Magic represented by the cards they use, holding their own personal style of spells in the form of a multitude of cards that are shuffled together in a single deck. Fore the most part, Caster Decks allow holders to cast spells directly from the card itself rather than simply conjuring . They are initially equipped with a Seal Card and a Blank Contract Card. To become stronger and obtain more cards, the owner must use the Contract Card to form a contract with a Mirror Monster. As a result, each wizard that uses Card Magic is known to possesses their own distinct cards and spells that go along with them, equipping them with decks that carry different weapons and abilities based how the user uses their magic, making it one of the easiest ways to distinguish between countless users that utilize the same magic art. As a common practice, most wizards who use Card Magic often carry what is known as an “ace card”, a special categorized card known for the special ability it has — besides these cards, Card Magic spells are categorized in five categories that separate their primary functions, e.g. attack, defense, support, summoning, and events, each one serving a different purpose based on the caster’s situation in battle. For the most part, Card Magic can be thought up as a type of children’s card game, in which most users are mixing and matching different magical cards together in order to win by performing key-winning combos with certain cards by chaining together a multitude of spells in order to secure victory. In the more common ways, most wizards tend bolster their skills through continued battle, doing so in order to gain access to new cards, thus increasing the wizard's power. This is typically accomplished by the user via the creation of new cards that are based off of certain experiences they encounter with people or magic, recording these instances inside cards for later use; a common example of this can be found in the spell, a special ability used to communicate with specific people the user knows or has met in the past by recording the instances of their meeting inside a card for later use. As a result, there are a wide array of different magic cards that are attributed to being exclusive to each wizard that practices Card Magic, insinuating that each user has their own pre-set of cards that is unshared by others. Some are of them can be considered rather unique or rare, primarily due to the instances in which they can record certain uncommon instances, but for the most part, the vast majority of wizards tend to use staple replicas of the same cards, such as using their cards to fire Elemental Magic, being regarded as one of the most universally used techniques. As a basic commodity in their application, these cards allows any wizard that employs their use to summon forth their own variant approach toward casting magic for the sake of conjuring offensive and defensive weapons, or simply use special abilities in their battles. Much like a video camera, Card Magic can imitate the function of other magic by recording their casting method and replicate it outward once activated. However, the effectiveness and power it has is solely determined by the caster’s own experience and relative skill in Card Magic, as well as the amount of magic being used to activate their cards in battle. Most magical cards have their offensive or defensive power rated by the relative input of magic energy being used and the exact extent in which they’re trying to exert their power’s sense of influence, serving as a way to roughly indicate how powerful the card's weapons or abilities are going to be after being activated. Card Types Attack Cards *'Attack Cards' (攻撃カード, Kōgeki Kādo): Mainly consisting of cards that simulate or replicate physical attacks or combat scenarios involving weapons, non-magic techniques, or body-to-body blows, attack cards significantly reign supreme in terms of pure offensive power, overpowering most opponents with sheer force. While in effect, these type of cards primarily distinguished primarily for their usage in injuring or destroying nearby obstacles and objects by either producing magic blasts or weapon-based attacks belonging to different tools, such as slashes, stabs, blunt damage, etc. By mixing and matching various types of offensive cards together, the user can create various combos by producing entirely original attacks by simply overlaying multiple cards over one another, modifying the way they move or function during their entire casting procedure so as to generate new techniques. Additionally, the way these attacks function in the outside world is also under the casters disposition, enabling a number of actions to be taken while being activated, such as significantly bolstering the attack power of these attacks, the range they have, the speed they can travel, or the relative ability to harm something upon impact by either full piercing through or simply dealing a lethal blow on the surface of the target. Defense Cards *'Defense Cards' (防衛カード, Bōei Kādo): This variety of card uniquely focuses on “guard" power instead of “attack” power like most other cards, producing a variety of cards tasked with redirecting attacks, circumventing damage, or nullifying harmful effects afflicting the user and their compatriots. For the most part, this variation of cards tend to produce magical barriers or other similar techniques, doing whatever they can in order to ensure that the caster is safe from harm by building up a powerful countermeasure to hold the line between an incoming attack and their physical body, acting as the wall that would separate the two from one another. When multiple cards are added to the mix, the degree of defense they offer is bolstered even further, spreading out the effect so as to cover a greater range of space by constructing large walls, domes, or shields to block out surrounding attacks. Aside from simply generate a physical force to counter attacks, defensive cards also augment a target’s ability to endure or resist damage coming from particular spells, making it much harder for the target to stagger or be knocked around from place. Support Cards *'Support Cards' (サポートカード, Sapōto Kādo): Considered to be the well-rounded style of magical cards that maintains a balance between offense and defensive abilities, support cards mainly focuses on boosting up the user through the use of buffing effects that are purposed with giving not only the user, but other targets positive status effects that affects their physical and magical abilities in a positive way. For the vast majority of the time, cards of this nature bestow upon others enhanced abilities or temporarily augmented attacks, enhancing various sets of abilities depending on the cards being used, such as targeting their magic specifically or bodily actions through the application of manual attacks through weapons or close-range techniques. Although temporary, once in use, most people experience basic enhanced feats, such as magnified performance in terms of strength, speed, magic, durability, etc., while at the same time lifting debilitating status effects off of their body — poisoning or spells that deal with negatively affecting their body are the most affected when it comes to using support cards to treat them, often time lifting them or temporarily ceasing their functions in order to alleviate them from their grasp. When taken even further, this aspect of magic can be applied unto objects rather than people, amplify their baser properties so as to increase their effectiveness during use, doubling its power increasing all applicable parameters including power or overall effect. Summoning Cards *'Summoning Cards' (召喚カード, Shōkan Kādo): A much more unusual approach in the use of Card Magic, most wizards tend to use their cards in a manner very similar to Requip, in which the user can summon all manner of objects and equipment from another space. This is thanks to the fact that each card is capable of holding within itself a small pocket dimension capable of holding unto a singular object or person within the contours of the card’s body, storing them in another dimension for safe keeping until summoned for use. The flexibility it has in terms of storage capacity and type of items is usually determined by the user’s relative skill and card used in the summoning — as the general terms, a vacant card can hold one singular item of choice for the user to call upon by simply throwing the card or activating it, forcing the withheld contents to be expunged outside immediately. For the most part, captured objects tend be more focused on items or equipment that helps in aiding the user in certain occasions , such as armor or weapons for combat-related purposes or general support. Aside from simply trapping other things inside cards, they do have a certain degree of creative liberty in terms of mass producing certain objects of simplistic nature, such as guns, swords, or inanimate objects based around artificial life. It is in this turn that summoning cards take on a much heavier basis on Summoning Magic, giving the user a greater freedom of creation by reproducing living creatures based around a card’s design. This in typically takes on the form of magical beasts, animals, mythological creatures, or human-looking figures under the complete control of the user, coming equipped with their own attacks. Event Cards *'Event Cards' (イベントカード, Ibento Kādo): A special type of card unlike an other that does not fall under the conventional card types listed above, event cards are one-of-a-kind spells known for their abilities being on a completely different level, trumping all other cards in terms of effects. Much like in cards games, these cards also have limitations in the way they function before and after; as a result, these cards have a one-shot effect that later renders them unusable after a prolonged period of time. Event Cards by their very nature are usually cards which have a fire and forget effect, meaning they have a severely limited casting capacity that more often than not results in a one-time use during a battle. They can have varying effects such as changing power, searching through the user’s deck or removing currently active cards from play. Unlike the other cards, they do not fall under traditional means of spell casting, tending to favor on withholding their capabilities for a cost, hence the strict requirements needing to be fulfilled that limits their use unless they can pay the cost(s). In order to play said card, a player needs to pay its cost in order for them to take action. If the event has a play requirement (i.e. magic energy), the user also needs to have at least that much power of the required energy in order to play the card. It is for this very reason that event cards are regarded as the most powerful out of the other five card types in Card Magic. Events are situational single-use cards that can provide a variety of effects — each “event” that the card triggers has a power or at least one trait that affects either the caster, their opponent, or their environment in a certain way. Trivia